Israeli surgeons fix Latvian boy's right hand

Kyril, 12-year-old boy from Latvia whose congenital defect made it impossible for use right hand, set to return home.

KYRIL, 12, lived until now with only one working hand 370.
(photo credit:Courtesy Rambam Medical Center)

Kyril, a 12-year-old boy from Latvia whose congenital defect made it impossible
for him to eat, scratch or do anything else with his right hand, is now able to
function normally and return home, thanks to surgeons at Rambam Medical Center
in Haifa.

Kyril suffered from brachial plexus palsy, a defect that occurs
in one in 3,000 to 5,000 births. But in 90 percent of cases, the disability
passes by the age of three months. In the case of the Latvian boy – and about
eight Israeli children a year – it never did.

A week ago, the boy arrived
in Haifa to undergo a relatively rare and complicated operation by Dr. Mark
Edelman, head of the pediatric orthopedics department at Rambam. The surgeon
turned the boy’s wrist 65 degrees around and set it in its new location with six
screws. His shoulder bone was also moved to the right place.

Edelman said
that it was only the second case he had encountered in his career as a
surgeon.

“Kyril taught himself to cope with life using only one of his
hands. This is a very difficult disability for such a small child,” he
said.

After the three-hour operation and one day of hospitalization, he
was discharged last week. By using a new type of locking plate in his arm, the
need for several days of hospitalization, a plastic cast for weeks and other
treatment was eliminated. Kyril feels well, and for the first time in his life,
is able to use both hands.